


Momentum

by jade_lil



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Angst, Arashi - Freeform, Fanfiction, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Romance, aimiya - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-31
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-31 02:03:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1025989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jade_lil/pseuds/jade_lil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’s not quite sure, but a month alone is long enough (three would be pushing it, seriously) – but this is Aiba’s life that is literally hanging on a thread and he thinks no one, most of all him, has the right to think of anything aside from wanting to make sure Aiba’s going to be alright.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Momentum

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Smooth Lines](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1012806) by [jade_lil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jade_lil/pseuds/jade_lil). 



> filling prompts over @rainbowfilling. Continuation of Smooth Lines

It isn’t like he’s still worried – well, maybe he is, but Aiba knows him too well to tease him about it now – struggling to keep his fingers steady around the knife as he slices the apple that Sho brought him with, along with a dozen different fruits for Aiba to eat. 

Aiba’s operation had been successful (thankfully), but it doesn’t mean he can go straight back to how he was before; and then as if on cue, he heard Aiba’s parents talking about how the doctors had insisted for their son to stay in the hospital for a whole month, and then for another two at home (with regular hospital checkups twice every week) to make sure he recovers fully, thus completely confirming his fears. 

He’s not quite sure, but a month alone is long enough (three would be pushing it, seriously) – but this is Aiba’s life that is literally hanging on a thread and he thinks no one, most of all him, has the right to think of anything aside from wanting to make sure Aiba’s going to be alright. But along with everything else, he couldn’t help but think about how Aiba’s condition is bound to affect them – what with the fact that Arashi has barely started; their activities had just been lined up carefully for them till the rest of the year, and now, with Aiba’s delicate condition – 

“It’s either I quit or you find someone else to replace me,” Aiba pipes from where he is propped up on the bed; the oxygen mask is gone, and Aiba can finally breath properly without the oxygen support but he still looks like he gets tired easily. 

He doesn’t know when Aiba has started reading minds but it’s kind of annoying him already – especially when he is quietly thinking things over and Aiba keeps on spilling his thoughts for him out loud. 

He slices the apple into four big pieces and doesn’t bother placing them on a plate; he just takes them and brings them to where his loud-mouthed bestfriend is. 

“You know it’s actually up to you,” he says, not meeting Aiba’s eyes; he dumps the apple slices on the space on the bed, on top of Aiba’s (or is it Jun’s?) manga; Aiba yelps and replaces the manga with a handful of tissues he grabbed from the bedside table. “But if it helps, you know we – we have already spoken to Johnny-san,” 

Aiba picks up a slice and starts munching on it, looking away, and doing his best to avoid Nino’s gaze too. 

“I’ll only bring you guys down with me,” Aiba mumbles like he’s sure the talk with Johnny-san didn’t end well, his voice still sounded a little scratchy, like the voice doesn’t belong to Aiba but to someone else entirely. “Does Johnny-san know that I’m not even allowed to walk faster than normal? That the doctor said I need at least three months to recover fully? You know you guys cannot afford an invalid as a member and I’m not –“ 

“You’re not an invalid,” he snaps, annoyed; “Stop saying horrible things like that, you know they’re not true!” he hisses, knows that things aren’t going to be that easy as to how he wishes they would be, but maybe it is wrong for him to expect a completely different reaction from Aiba – at least not the reaction he’s seeing now. 

“Well, I’m not going to be able to dance and sing as per usual, so that amounts to being as useless as the word implies and you guys –“ Aiba pauses and swallows, and Nino is sure he is trying his hardest not to cry. “—y-you guys don’t want that,” Aiba mutters bitterly, and his hand itches to reach out and slap him, the idiot. 

He lifts his left hand and pinches the bridge of his nose, trying his hardest not to scream. Sometimes, he doesn’t know why things are the way they are, but he figures that’s what makes his life extra interesting – being friends with probably the bubbliest but most idiotic person in the entire Japanese universe and with three other, (though less idiotic but idiots, nonetheless) boys who are willing to go down on their knees with him if only to join him in begging the Jimusho’s founding father about keeping this particularly sensitive idiot to stay on the group. 

“Aiba-chan,” he starts, letting his voice drop its ire and softening his stance to further prove his point – whatever the hell that is. “Will you please stop being so melodramatic? It doesn’t suit you, seriously,” he says, wishes Aiba could see through his thinly veiled sarcasm, enough for the other boy to know how much he wanted things back to how they were, how much he wishes he could fix Aiba, if only he could. 

“I’m not being melodramatic, it’s the tru –“ 

“Whatever happens, we got you, okay?” he cuts in, feels his voice shakes along with the rest of him, looking up to meet Aiba’s gaze. “We got you; we are going to back you up no matter what,” he insists firmly, then, “Leader said he’s been coordinating with the dance instructors so they can tweak the choreography around a bit, just for you, you know? It doesn’t matter whether you’re sitting on a chair while we dance our asses off – it doesn’t matter, Aiba-chan. You say you want to continue with us and that’s that – don’t make excuses for yourself because we don’t need _it_. We need _you_.” 

Aiba doesn’t say anything but he could hear the sounds of Aiba’s sniffles, the way he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s crying by munching loudly on the apple. He knows he must have upset Aiba, but he doesn’t regret saying the words he just said. He needs Aiba to understand that it’s them or Arashi will cease to exist – it’s that simple. 

He stands up and goes straight to fetch Aiba a drink – there are five bottles of soy milk here, Aiba’s favorite – takes it along with him before he plops back on his chair. 

Aiba is still munching noisily on the apple. 

“I bought you your soy milk,” he says, his fingers shaking against the bottle opener; his chest feels heavy and there’s apology waiting, dangling at the tips of his tongue but he couldn’t find the air to say it. “Your favorite brand,” he follows, his voice quiet. 

Aiba sniffs. “Was it really you who bought it or you asked someone to buy it for you?” Aiba clarifies in a shaky voice and Nino feels like strangling him.

“It doesn’t matter,” he snaps, “Do you want it or not?” 

Aiba looks up then, his eyes are wet with grateful tears. 

“It matters,” Aiba says, “It matters because – _because_ –“ he pauses, and just then Nino knows Aiba’s no longer talking about the drink he’s offering; he stumbles from his chair and onto Aiba, keeping the soy milk bottle in one hand and reaching over to grab Aiba round the back  of his head one-handedly. 

“You are one of us, Aiba-chan, and you will always be one of us whether you like it or not; we’re going to be stuck forever, the five of us, so deal with it.” he tells Aiba’s hair, mindful of the way Aiba is shaking against him. He knows his friend’s insecurities – he has them too, the same way Sho has them, and Jun and even Leader, but with Aiba’s condition, he knows it’s even more terrifying. 

The fact that he doesn’t know whether he’d be able to continue as per usual, whether the management’s kind enough to listen to four teenage boys’ request to retain their presently useless bandmate until he recovers; but Nino knows they’ve passed that hurdle – management sure knows how to make demands when they want to, and they did nothing but bowed their heads and agreed to everything they asked. It’s that or losing Aiba and there’s no way in hell they are going to allow that. 

The important thing is that they agreed – Aiba will stay and the four of them are going to take on Aiba’s job for him until he’s healed enough to work like a horse again. 

“Even though I’m useless?” Aiba asks, and Nino rolls his eyes, reaches up to cuff Aiba round the back of his head. 

“You’ll always be useless, sick or not,” he says, smiling when Aiba whines in return. “But you’re our useless – our very own, so it’s okay – we’re okay with that; besides, it would be pretty boring without you – I’d have no one to bully when because Jun is starting to scare the shit out of everybody, me included. So that leaves you and Leader for me to poke fun with, so there’s no way we’re letting you quit,”

“How sweet,” Aiba says in mock amusement, pulling away and flicking at his ears. “I’m pretty sure your love is pure and true,” 

He grins. “Oh, I do love you – you don’t know?” 

Aiba snatches the bottle of soy milk out from his hand. “Give me that, you little rascal,” Aiba says airily, but he is wiping at the corners of his eyes and Nino’s smile widens. 

“What a drama queen,” he retorts, grinning. Aiba scowls and swats at him. 

“Shut up,” 

He is no longer smiling when he grabs one of Aiba’s hand and squeezes, forcing his blush to go away when Aiba throws him a confused little stare. 

“Nino?” 

He swallows. “D-Don’t – D-Don’t do that to me again, okay?” he finds himself whispering, tightening his hold against Aiba’s own as Aiba blinks back at him. “If y-you’re not feeling well, you tell us – don’t keep things to yourself, don’t force yourself to do things just to prove people you’re worth being there -- standing where you are because you are, believe me, you are. I never – I never want to see you in that same state ever again, Aiba-chan, you hear me? Never. So please, please, at least if you can help it, stop being an idiot and –“ 

“I’ll try, Nino-chan,” Aiba whispers back, and then he finds himself being tugged in, as Aiba’s long arms pulls him towards the older boy, and soon he finds Aiba’s face tucked against the hollow of his throat. 

“Thank you,” Aiba says as he presses his hand against the back of Aiba’s head, nodding. “Thank you for not leaving me, Nino-chan,” 

“No,” he whispers back, fingers tightening on Aiba’s hair. “Thank _you_  --" he swallowed, "for not leaving _us_ ,” he says and he knows that Aiba knows, this time, he means it; he truly does.

 


End file.
